Italy Shine To Claim Bronze

Backed by their home support, Italy seized the bronze medal at the U16 European Championship for Women with an emphatic victory over Turkey.

Elisa Penna ignited a dominating performance that saw the tournament hosts stroll to a 82-48 win, scoring all 18 of her points in a decisive first half.

Renato Nani's side seized control with a 10-0 run in the opening quarter and another six straight points pushed them 46-22 ahead by half-time.

It was Italy's best defensive performance of the championships and the Turks simply could not break it down.

Antonia Peresson punched the air when she drained a long three-pointer to extend the gap to 30 and when she converted on the break with 3:05 to go in the third quarter, the home bench rose to its feet.

Erkan Metin called a time-out but Turkey were out of contention and despite a 7-2 start to the fourth, the celebrations in Cagliari had already long since begun.

Cecilia Zandalasini added 18 for the winners. Büsra Akbas led Turkey with 14.